Lets go again!!

So after two weeks of eating kebabs and cake, all in the aid of my birthday may I add, I have decided to get back into the exercise regime.

I ordered Jillian Michael's Extreme Shed and Shred DVD, thought I'd up my game a little bit!! The workouts however are a little bit longer to the 30 Day Shred, so they are not as easy to master between dropping the kids at nursery and getting to work.

However, seeing as my eldest thinks 4.30am is the best time to get up, I have decided to get the workout done at 5.30am!!! Leaving me time to get back and have a speedy clean up before work, oooohhh what a treat!!

I figure that if I carry on with those workouts in the morning, I can always do the longer one in the evening, or go for a run or some such exercise!!

I have proved to myself that exercise DOES actually make you feel better!!! The two weeks I spent indulging in junk food, lack of exercise made me very grouchy, fed up and down, so note to self there!!!

Also re-weighed and took measurements to ensure I can keep an accurate track of progress!!

Week 2 - Complete!

I am relieved to have got through week 2 without quitting, having a take away or a binge!!

Disappointing to jump on the scales this morning to no further weight loss :( This is the point where I start to feel disheartened and am tempted to have something yummy to eat.....but NO!!

Did manage to get through the whole 'Shred' workout without stopping for a breather last night, so that can only be a good thing! Almost halfway through with that, so will need to up my game to level 3, maybe later this week.

2 weeks down....almost!

Almost at the end of week 2!! Will be glad to reach that milestone,  then I can really focus on the fact that I have gone without a lot of the junk food I was so used to!! No bread or fizzy drinks is quite an achievement!

Keeping up with the 30 day shred, although I have missed 2 sessions, purely down the the fact I felt exhausted from general everyday activities and poorly children! My tummy feels a bit flatter, although it could do with looking a LOT flatter! My shoulders kill, but overall I don't feel I want to give up.

I would be a bit happier if my clothes had started to feel less tight, so hopefully in the next 2 weeks this will happen and I hope to be closer to shifting a stone in a month!

Struggling this week!!

My little girl has had chicken pox, so normal routine has been disrupted!!

I have been doing my workouts apart from last night as I was totally exhausted and did not have a 'shred' of energy, to get shredded!!

Got to get back on it tonight though, despite really wanting to go to bed as soon as the little ones have gone to sleep!!

Have tried to be good on the food front but have to admit that today I have had some chocolate and a biscuit!! It's so hard to stay focussed when you're so tired!!

Can I just say that it has been scientifically proven that when you have a certain amount, or lack of sleep, your metabolism slows down. hence the need to eat I think!!

Hopefully I can get back into the groove later, fingers crossed.

Ok, I was determined to jump on the old fitness wagon at the start of the year, but found it really difficult. I don't think that my mind was in the right place, and my body definitely wasn't!!

I made excuses, I am aware of that, but I just couldn't stop myself from enjoying the amazing Thai takeaway just around the corner, or even worse, the kebab shop that is literally outside our back door!!

But then something clicked!! A girl I used to work with posted a picture of herself on Facebook, she looked unbelievably amazing! She had toned up and lost weight and looked really happy.

I wanted a piece of that!! I had cancelled my gym membership, at £45 a month and no time to go, the money would be far better off in my pocket! So I asked her what she had been doing and she pointed me in the direction of Gillian Michaels and her '30 Day Shred' DVD.

I was dubious, I've had DVD's before, I loose interest before I loose any weight and then I am disheartened, have a kebab and the whole cycle begins again!!

Anyway, I ordered it, decided I'd give it a go, it's 20 minute sessions of high intensity workout!!

So my usual day starts at 5am, 5.30 if I'm lucky! I watch some children's tv or a Scooby Doo DVD, then get my now 4 year old boy and 20 month old little girl ready for nursery, harder than it sounds, get them fed, teeth cleaned etc and out the door for 7.30am. If I'm lucky and the buses are on my side I get back home at 8.40....

.....so this is it, I do my 20 minutes and then get showered and off to work!!

Do you know what I like it, it's working and - she says quietly - quite enjoy it!!!

Of course there's more too it than a workout, I have had to ditch the junk food!! And I want to keep going until I get 2 weeks out the way, this is apparently when the junk is out of your system and your body starts to change!!

So, after my first week, I lost 6lbs!!!! I am worried my scales are wrong, but I'm going with it!
This week is hard, I'm hungry, I want to eat cake!! but I'm just trying to think of something else right now!!

Got to work towards that summer body!!

I just want to feel good and not frumpy in what I wear, not catch a glimpse of myself in a shop window reflection and think 'god you look awful!!'.

On day 9 today..... lets see if I get to the end without failing!!!...

Week one down!

Ok, I've not posted for a few days, not because I've been sat on the sofa eating the Christmas food that is left, but just because I've been busy preparing to the first week back at work, with loads of things to get sorted!!

Friday night had a rest night, but Saturday jumped back on the exercise band wagon and did another Nike training session, which I have to say didn't feel as heavy going as the first, so I feel a bit like I hadn't done much!!

Both Sunday and yesterday were exercise free, apart from running up and down the stairs at work!

So, today is one week since I started out on my quest to 'get fitter'. I took all my measurements at the start, but am not going to revisit them for a few months, instead my focus is on weight for now. My starting weight was 12 Stone, and jumping on the scales this morning, was happy to see 11 Stone 11 lbs!!! So, 3 pounds down! At least I'm heading in the right direction!! Onwards and downwards!!!

Day 2 - temptation!

Felt good about yesterday, but after getting woken up at midnight by a 3 1/2 year old after having only been in bed an hour, was not so optimistic about today.

Firstly, I had a biscuit :( energy levels were low!

Tried to get back on track by having an apple, which after 2 bites was pinched by my 18 month old!!!

Did manage to resist any more biscuits, but then my sister turned up with homemade brownies, would have been rude to enjoy one!

Tried to ease of any more 'bad food', and did a few sets of sit ups to try and counteract the damage I had already caused.

But then it got worse....... I baked a batch of banana and white chocolate cupcakes, fortunately the majority of the second batch burnt!! But it didn't stop me enjoying the first batch!!

Feeling terrible, decided I had to do some kind of exercise, so made use of the Nike Training Club app, which has a whole range of exercises for all goals and abilities, and even though I opted for the beginner workout, and roped Carl into taking part too!!!

I was not as easy as expected, but it did help get my incredible stiff legs moving again!!

Followed this with a beef stir fry, hopefully that isn't too bad and balances out the day pretty well.

Here's to day 3, just had a tip off about a detox plan......

Day 1

So, today I was mentally prepared for what I was going to do! Run back home after dropping the little monkey's off at nursery!!!

Waiting for the bus in my running kit at 7.30am was bloody freezing so I was totally not looking forward to the gasping for breath and burning sensation of the cold air up my nose!

Didn't really know what route I was going to take, but just started to run, in the general direction of home, and with my headphones in I managed to block out the sound from my warthog impression as I passed unsuspecting commuters on their leisurely stroll to the office!

Ran the long boring road bit, nearly fell down the stairs of the subway as my legs were like jelly and then embraced the downhill part where I kept telling myself to 'relax into the hill, just enjoy it'. Then picked up the pace, through the town centre, looking like I was a pro at all this, then down through the gardens and to the pier, where I decided to stop, admire the sunrise and more importantly stretch out my burning calf muscles which I was convinced were about to snap!

From then I adopted a 'walk when you get to the last beach hut/lamp post/bench/ambulance crew!!!'

Eventually made it home managing to run the whole of the last section, whilst listening to a rather bizarre combination of Vampire weekend, Cypress Hill and Hi Ho Silver Lining!!

On stopping and checking my running app, I managed a distance of 5.52k or 3.42 miles in 42.16mins, apparently that's 473 calories!!

Not great, but a starting point.

Have been good with the old food today, did not add sugar to my porridge, or for that matter consume any sugar!! Hold on, additional info, just been handed a bowl of trifle, I'm going to have just 3 spoonfuls!!! I also drank 5 glasses of water, which is an improvement on the usual thimble full!

So overall how do I feel today, out of ten and in 3 words.......1 being death and 10 being ultimate nirvana.... then about 3! Achey, bloated and drained!